CPC technology class · B31

B31B - Making Containers OF Paper

Making containers of paper, cardboard or material worked in a manner analogous to paper. 2,038 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

2,038
US patents granted: B31
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +34%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Making Containers OF Paper ranks #368 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,038 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 34% over five years.

#368
of 670 CPC technology areas: 2,038
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Graphic Packaging Int…
leading assignee (120): +34%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: Graphic Packaging International, Llc (120 patents)

CPC subclass B31B - MAKING CONTAINERS OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER - covers 2,038 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B31 (MAKING ARTICLES OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER; WORKING PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B31B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Graphic Packaging International, Llc leads with 120 patents, followed by Westrock Shared Services, Llc at 79 grants and THE GLAD Products Company at 45.

Filing activity in B31B is up 34% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B31B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B31B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 34% versus 2015–2019.

Graphic Packaging Int…

120
Westrock Shared Servi…

79
The Glad Products

45
Packsize

45
Totani

38
Tetra Laval Holdings…

36
Sonoco Development

35
Pratt Retail Specialt…

32
Bobst Mex

26
Sig Technology

26
Berry Plastics

22
Mitsubishi Heavy Indu…

22

What this shows Graphic Packaging Int… is the most active filer in B31B, holding 120 of the 2,038 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass B31B
Rank	Company	Patents in B31B
#1	Graphic Packaging International, Llc	120
#2	Westrock Shared Services, Llc	79
#3	THE GLAD Products Company	45
#4	Packsize, Llc	45
#5	Totani Corporation	38
#6	Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.a.	36
#7	Sonoco Development, Inc.	35
#8	Pratt Retail Specialties, Llc	32
#9	Bobst MEX Sa	26
#10	SIG Technology Ag	26
#11	Berry Plastics Corporation	22
#12	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd.	22
#13	CMD Corporation	20
#14	Windmöller & Hölscher KG	18
#15	Ishida Co., Ltd.	14
#16	Idemitsu Unitech Co., Ltd.	14
#17	Kabushiki Kaisha Isowa	14
#18	Thatbox Design, Llc	14
#19	Poly-america, L.p.	13
#20	Pouch Pac Innovations, Llc	13

About This Class

CPC subclass B31B belongs to class B31.

2,038 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B31B assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 B31B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B31B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B31B?

CPC subclass B31B covers MAKING CONTAINERS OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER. It belongs to CPC class B31 (MAKING ARTICLES OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER; WORKING PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER), with 2,038 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in B31B?

2,038 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B31B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in B31B?

Graphic Packaging International, Llc leads B31B with 120 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for B31B collected?

Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.

What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?

A CPC class (e.g., B31) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B31B provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.